ALLEGHENY FAMILY NETWORK ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Misty Woody joins executive team at family peer support organization
PITTSBURGH, PA – Allegheny Family Network (AFN), a family-run organization supporting parents raising children with mental health concerns in Allegheny County and across Pennsylvania, announces the promotion of Misty Woody to Chief Development Officer.
Woody, previously the Community Development Supervisor at AFN, has contributed to the support of parents and families for the past 12 years as a community and public relations coordinator in public schools, supervisor of the development of AFN Adult Education Program in Natrona Heights and director of Community Learning Hubs for parents to have safe locations for children to learn remotely during the pandemic. Most importantly to AFN, which is a peer-to-peer organization, Woody is a parent who has used her lived experience of raising a child with a mental health diagnosis to contribute to services, programs and events helping other parents who have similar challenges and concerns.
As a former journalist for Tribune-Review News Service and public and community relations manager for Highlands School District, Woody will utilize her writing experience, personal and professional insight to the needs of families to seek opportunities for strong support connections between providers and parents in communities across Allegheny County and develop training and awareness events for those who desire a deeper understanding of mental health and behavioral health in families. She will also be working to build AFN’s funding portfolio with local foundations, county, state and federal funding opportunities.
“Misty Woody has worked at AFN since 2017 and has been an asset to Allegheny Family Network. As a parent with ‘Lived Experience’ she understands the child-serving systems in Allegheny County,” said Ruth Fox, CEO. “Misty brings her education and personal expertise in working with schools, including as a school director board president in her home district, and has a passion to see children succeed in our school systems. Misty will be connecting to communities to build partnerships with AFN and develop strong relations to strengthen families across Allegheny County. The development that Misty will bring in her role as Chief Development Officer will take AFN to a new level of reaching families with Family Peer Support.”
Woody will focus on the education and advocacy part of Allegheny Family Network’s mission – “Through peer-to-peer support, education and advocacy, we partner with families of children with behavioral health needs to improve their quality of life” - by partnering with service providers, community organizations, school districts and community representatives to connect more families to available services through family peer support. Developing programs, services, and relationships in disadvantaged and marginalized communities will be a priority in her next steps at AFN, focusing on minimizing mental health stigma, behavioral health awareness and education, and service disconnects.
“I am honored to continue to contribute my efforts to AFN’s vision of families being empowered, respected, valued, and encouraged by an accepting community and responsive child-serving systems,” Woody said. “I know firsthand what a unique journey it is, and I know the value that resources and providers hold in our county for parents and caregivers like me. I’m excited to be able to develop strong and helpful relationships between other providers, community organizations and schools that are invested in the success and equity of children and families, particularly those with mental health and behavioral health concerns. Parents and caregivers just want the best outcomes for their children but raising one with mental health or behavioral health can be particularly lonely and does not come with a handbook. Families need to know how to get help and how to advocate for their family voice and choice."
Woody earned her master’s degrees in Communications and a Master’s in Business Administration, as well as her undergraduate degree in communications at Point Park University, where she was in the founding class of the Innocence Institute of Western PA. She is a resident of Natrona Heights, Harrison Township, with her husband Tyrone, her children, Savannah, Tyarah and Tyrone, Jr., and granddaughter Le’Lani.
Woody serves as the treasurer of the Highlands Partnership Network, is an advisor of the Upper Allegheny Valley CDC Advisory Panel, a member of the Mon-Valley Provider Council and the AIU3 TEAR Program Professional Learning Community. Woody is the owner of Arise Marketing and Communications, helping local businesses and nonprofits with marketing goals. She also is a founding member of Generations House of Worship Church in Brackenridge.